The Greece-Eurozone dispute has received a great deal of attention in the media in recent weeks. It seems however that contradicting statements and polarized views - many tainted by various political agendas...
The Canadian housing market is very expensive. Median house price to median household income is higher in Vancouver than it is in Sydney, London, and New York. If rates rise or if commodity prices continue to...
Diplomatic efforts are once again under way to establish a more lasting ceasefire in eastern Ukraine via the "Minsk peace talks redux". While Angela Merkel's diplomatic efforts should be applauded, chances for...
We are about to witness a historic showdown between the major euro area institutions and Greece. Greece's newly appointed finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, a staunch bailout critic, will lead the negotiations on debt haircuts.
The market expects the banking system to be flooded with liquidity generated by quantitative easing for a long time. The area's banks will therefore prefer lending to each other at negative 8-12 basis points to depositing...
Unlike a number of other nations — especially some countries in Europe — the U.S. is currently not dealing with general price declines. However, the risks of such an occurrence have increased materially. This for example can be seen in...
With all the focus on falling crude oil prices as well as sharp reductions in the cost of gasoline (including retail), jet fuel, and heating oil, it's easy to miss the fact that prices of other energy products have been hit quite hard as well...
And so it begins… Collapsing crude prices are starting to make their way through the North American energy sector, as the most unprofitable oil & gas rigs are mothballed. Those flashing red numbers are not just on your screen any more.
If Mario Draghi was lacking ammunition to initiate an outright quantitative easing program in the Eurozone, he certainly has it now. Even the staunchest opponents will have a tough time arguing against...
The latest US payrolls report presents a challenge for the Fed. Labor markets are continuing to heal, suggesting that the rate "normalization" should be a serious consideration for the central bank. However, the recent deterioration...
Although OPEC's decision to maintain current crude production quotas was not entirely unexpected, the market reaction was violent. WTI crude fell by 10% over the last two days of the week.
The latest Reuters poll is showing 24 out of 43 economists projecting the first rate hike in the U.S. by June of next year. The futures market is pricing liftoff by September. Citi's latest analysis puts it in December.
Monday the Bank of Japan announced that it will be buying Japanese equity ETFs as well as property funds (REITs) to boost demand for risk assets. The BoJ has done this before but the timing of this announcement suggests a new push to accelerate monetary easing.
Once again, a great deal of confusion surrounds the European Central Bank's current policy objectives as well as the nearterm action expectations. Let's try to tackle the subject in a Q&A format.
The availability of residential mortgage bonds in the United States has been shrinking. Private mortgage securitization markets are nonexistent since the financial crisis and the GSEs are not generating enough new supply.
Medical costs rose at an official rate of 1.7% year on year this past September, but the average increase in medical expenses individuals actually paid could easily be far larger. Most importantly, the CPI, as a pure price index...
This is every gold bull's dream. The Swiss just might force their central bank to begin accumulating massive amounts of gold via the so-called “Save our Swiss gold” referendum. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) unwound a large portion of...
China's GDP growth is gradually slowing as expected - at least according to the official reports. Growth is now at the lowest level since 2009, but so far the Bloomberg China GDP Tracker forecast of a sharp correction this quarter has not materialized.
Futures markets have shifted expectations for the Fed's liftoff further out in time. The July-15 Fed Funds futures contract is only pricing a 12bp Fed Funds rate increase from the current levels — not enough for a full hike.
Expectations of Bank of Japan accelerating securities purchases at the October meeting have fallen considerably. Majority of economists now expect any type of change in policy to take place no earlier than December/January, if ever.
